A third person has drowned in Lake Bunyonyi in less than a month, raising renewed concerns about water safety after a head teacher and a student died in separate incidents on the same lake.
The latest incident occurred on Tuesday at about 5 pm when a 15-year-old boy, identified only as Nukiza, drowned while swimming at Itara Village in Bufundi Sub-county, Rubanda District.
Police said Nukiza, a resident of Kashasha Trading Centre in the same sub-county, had gone to the shores of Lake Bunyonyi to swim when he drowned.
By Wednesday morning, his body had not been recovered. Nelson Tumushime, the Kigezi Region Police spokesperson, confirmed the incident and said Marine Police had joined residents in searching for the missing body.
Tumushime urged residents and visitors around Lake Bunyonyi, one of Africa’s deepest lakes, to avoid swimming without supervision and to use life jackets while on the water.
The latest drowning comes barely two weeks after another student drowned in the lake. On August 9, 2026, Roland Ampeire, a Senior One student at Lake Bunyonyi Vocational Secondary School, drowned while swimming.
Ampeire, a resident of Kashenyi Village in Butenga Parish, Rubaya Sub-county, Rubanda District, was part of a group of students who had reportedly obtained permission from their school matron to go to the lake and wash their clothes.
Police said Ampeire entered the water without a life jacket or guide and began swimming before he drowned.
Earlier, on July 26, 2026, Johnson Spencer Tumukunde, a 45-year-old head teacher of Musamba Government Primary School, drowned after a canoe he was travelling in capsized near Kyevu Landing Site and Market in Butanda Sub-county.
Tumukunde was travelling from his home in Butebe Village to Musamba Church of Uganda in Rubaya Sub-county, where he was expected to assist with Sunday school activities.
He was travelling with 21-year-old Rebecca Ndamwesiga when strong waves overturned their canoe, throwing both occupants into the water. Residents at Kyevu Landing Site rescued Ndamwesiga, but Tumukunde disappeared beneath the water and was swept away.
The three incidents within a period of about three weeks have renewed concerns about water safety around Lake Bunyonyi, where residents and visitors continue to use the lake without adequate safety equipment.
Police are urging people who use the lake for swimming, transport or other activities to take precautions, including wearing life jackets and avoiding entering the water without trained supervision-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
